Osprey in Oregon

This post is in honor of my Mother in Law that passed away this morning.  Theresa's mom, Wynnie, was a great lady that I had the honor of knowing and loving.  We had many great family times together and I for one, will miss the fun and laughter that we shared.  You're in a better place now Wynnie.  Fly with the birds!!

On a recent fishing trip to Elkton Oregon we had the opportunity to see a lot of Osprey in action.  I took a few pictures and luckily some of my fishing partners had better quality cameras than mine.  It's amazing what the camera catches that the human eye does not.  Some of the dives that you will see below happened so quickly that I couldn't see what REALLY happened.

I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoyed watching these skilled divers in person.  Feel free to copy any of these pictures if you like them.  I can also send you hi-resolution images if you want them.  Just send me a note if you're interested.
 

 This bird was hovering overhead while we were fishing the Umqua river that runs through Elkton Oregon.  The Osprey has about a 5 to 6 foot wingspan and weighs about 4lbs. Osprey live and thrive all over the world.





This bird just snatched a good small mouth bass for lunch.  Oh well, that's how the food chain works.

 

Here's another bird just coming out of the water with a fish.  Yes, I have to admit that we "fed" these birds fish.  They were watching us closely from the tree tops and when we threw back a wounded fish, they were ready to dive-bomb for lunch.



Same bird as above just as she hit the water.  Notice how she has her wings folded up and out of the water?  The Osprey is also known as a Seahawk.




From swimming to flying in a matter of seconds.



Diving deep to grab a fish.  What a beautiful bird!!



Same bird coming out of the water with a fish



And finally fully out of the water!   These birds are amazing!

Well, I hope you enjoyed these pictures as much as I have.  Nature never ceases to grab my attention and I always crave more.  In a few days I'll post some pictures from the fishing trip.  The fishing was almost as good as the "show" that mother nature put on.  I thank God for such a wonderful world! 

We'll miss you Wynn!!